SEEN AND NOT COMPLETELY HEARD: WOLFHEART, URSINNE, GLOSON, PALE DIVINE, BLACK THERAPY, THRON, HORROR GOD

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Dec 052016
 

wolfheart-boneyard

 

Happy Monday. Through the miracles of modern technology, I’m writing this at roughly 38,000 feet above the earth, somewhere across the deserts of northern Utah, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and the barren panhandle of Texas. Under duress from my fucking day job, I’m bound for Houston for the next couple of days.

Actually, it’s not exactly a miracle, not something like turning water into wine, more like turning water into weak tea — because although I can get online, the service isn’t good enough to stream music or videos. So some of the items I’m including in this round-up are things I can see but can’t hear.

WOLFHEART

I’m beginning with an item that I could have heard over the weekend if I had known it was out there. Unfortunately, I discovered it only today after boarding this jet I’m on. It’s a video for a new song by Finland’s Wolfheart named “Boneyard“. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: HIEROPHANT, SACRIFICIO, BLACK VUL DESTRUKTOR, SITHTER, BLACK THERAPY, MOTH GATHERER

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Oct 142016
 

hierophant-mass-grave

 

I nearly decided to call this round-up “Overpowering Audio Carnage” or “Your End Is Near”, but decided those headlines wouldn’t quite suit everything I’ve collected here — though they would suit most of it.

I guess I’m in a bloody frame of mind, and these songs struck the right chord, some of them because they’re fucking bloody and cathartic and some of them because they turned my fevered mind in other appealing directions. I’m going to start with the especially nasty and destructive stuff.

HIEROPHANT

I’ve been meaning to check out the music from Hierophant’s new album Mass Grave and finally took the plunge when CVLT Nation premiered a track from it yesterday (thanks to Utmu for pointing me to it). I’m glad I was sitting down or it would have knocked me flat. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BLACK THERAPY — “MAD WORLD”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Feb 032015
 

 

Last fall we had the pleasure of premiering a full stream of The Final Outcome, a new EP by the Roman band Black Therapy, as well as a lyric video for the title track. And today we’re helping premiere an official music video for another song on the EP — the band’s cover of “Mad World”.

The cover was an interesting choice for the EP and a significant change of pace compared to the high-voltage melodic death gallops that precede it on the EP. Of course, the song was originally recorded by Tears For Fears, though in this case the band took their inspiration from the Gary Jules cover of the song that was included on the Donnie Darko movie soundtrack. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BLACK THERAPY — “THE FINAL OUTCOME”

 Premieres, Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Oct 162014
 

 

About 10 days ago we had the pleasure of premiering (here) a lyric video for “The Final Outcome”, the title track to a new EP by a Roman band named Black Therapy. Today we’re bringing you the official stream of the entire EP in advance of its official release tomorrow — preceded by this review.

There are four tracks on the EP, three of them original songs and one of them a cover. I already wrote about the title song that it was one of the most satisfying injections of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal I’d heard all year, and that turns out to be true of the second track as well, “Black Crow”.

Both songs are high-voltage gallops, with jolting verse riffs, sweeping choruses, and the kind of rapidly swirling lead guitar melodies that may cause you to form your hands into claws and lift them toward the heavens — while you bang your head like a crazy person. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BLACK THERAPY — “THE FINAL OUTCOME”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Oct 062014
 

Well, I didn’t expect I’d have to visit Rome to get one of the most satisfying injections of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal of the year, but that’s what Black Therapy have delivered via the song we’re about to premiere — “The Final Outcome”. It comes in the form of a lyric video.

The song is the title track to a new EP that will be released on October 17 by Revalve Records. The EP follows the band’s 2013 debut album, Symptoms of A Common Sickness.

You’d better limber up your neck muscles before listening, because “The Final Outcome” is a high-voltage gallop, with jolting verse riffs, a catchy-as-hell chorus, and the kind of rapidly swirling lead guitar melody that may cause you to form your hands into claws and lift them toward the heavens. To top off all this goodness, the song also features expertly crafted, hard-driving drums and vocals that are acid enough to etch glass.

Plus, the EP was recorded by Stefano Morabito (16th Cellar Studio), who seems to produce the majority of high-flying extremity to come out of Italy these days. Not surprisingly, the music sounds great. Continue reading »